Segun Kayode, a forensic investigator with the Department of State Services (DSS), has alleged that Nasir el-Rufai, former Kaduna state governor, and some of his associates earmarked $600,000 to pay officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and intermediaries.
Kayode, the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial,
made the allegation on Tuesday while testifying before the Kaduna state high
court sitting in Kawoa and presided over by Justice Darius Khobo.
The witness told the court that $500,000 and $100,000 were
allegedly set aside for the payments, adding that forensic audio recordings
captured conversations involving el-Rufai and some of his suspected associates.
According to Kayode, the recorded conversations centred on
alleged efforts to frustrate an EFCC investigation into a company identified as
Singularity.
He said a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), another
individual and Bashir el-Rufai, were among those allegedly mentioned in the
conversations.
Kayode told the court that the SAN and the other individual
were allegedly directed to meet one Ahmadu Sule to obtain a template previously
used to liquidate another company, with the intention of applying a similar
process to Singularity.
The investigator further alleged that the discussions
included plans to liquidate the company in Nigeria and Mauritius, where it was
reportedly under investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
He also alleged that the recordings contained discussions
about preventing the EFCC from investigating a company he said was listed on
the New York Stock Exchange.
The allegations formed part of the prosecution’s evidence
against the former governor and have yet to be established by the court.
Proceedings lasted nearly eight hours, from 12:26pm to
8:18pm, with about two hours devoted to playing the recorded conversations.
After Kayode submitted a hard copy of his findings to the
court clerk, the defence objected, saying the document should have been served
earlier to allow the legal team to study its contents.
The judge ruled that the defence could obtain a certified
true copy of the document admitted as Exhibit One for examination.
The court adjourned the case until November 30 and December
1, 2026, for the continuation of cross-examination, following agreement by the
prosecution and defence.
BACK STORY
El-Rufai is facing trial over alleged money laundering and
conversion of public property.
The DSS is also prosecuting the former governor before the
federal high court in Abuja over allegations of wiretapping.
He has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) since February 19, after
being released by the EFCC.
On April 13, the ICPC arraigned the former governor at the
Kaduna high court on an amended nine-count charge bordering on alleged fraud
and abuse of office.
In May, the federal high court in Abuja granted bail to
el-Rufai in the case pertaining to alleged access to a telephone conversation
involving Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA).
Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, granted el-Rufai bail
in the sum of N100 million with one surety in like sum.
In July, the el-Rufai family said the bail conditions being
handed to the former governor are not “viable”.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com